NER Class T2

Armstrong Whitworth

Industry	Locomotive manufacturing, engineering
Headquarters	Newcastle upon Tyne (Scotswood facility) , United Kingdom
Products	Locomotives (including Class T2 / LNER Q6)

Overview

The Class T2 locomotives of the North Eastern Railway—later designated as Class Q6 by the London and North Eastern Railway—are a series of 0-8-0 steam engines engineered primarily for heavy-duty freight service. These locomotives were specifically developed to manage lengthy coal trains destined for various collieries throughout the North Eastern area of the United Kingdom, operating at a top speed of 40 miles per hour.

Between 1913 and 1921, a total of 120 units were constructed at Darlington Works and by Armstrong Whitworth. The design, credited to Vincent Raven, was an evolution of the earlier NER Class T and T1 models (which the LNER classified as Q5). Notably, the fifty locomotives produced by Armstrong Whitworth from 1919 marked the company's inaugural venture into locomotive manufacturing following the transition of their Scotswood facility from wartime ordnance production to peacetime industrial output.

Numbering

Upon transfer to British Railways in 1948, these locomotives were assigned the numbers 63340-63459.

Disposal

Locomotive 63372 was taken out of service in 1960 following an accident. The wider withdrawal process occurred between 1963 and 1967. Notably, number 63395 has been preserved.

Preservation

Only one example, number 2238 (originally LNER 3395 from 1946 and later BR 63395), remains preserved and operates on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. Ownership belongs to the North Eastern Locomotive Preservation Group (NELPG), who acquired it from the Hughes Bolckow scrapyard in 1967. It was retired from active duty in January 2017 for a boiler overhaul, which was finalized by September 2018. This restoration allowed the locomotive to participate in the Autumn Steam Gala at the Severn Valley Railway shortly thereafter.

In May 2023, locomotive 63395 experienced a cylinder failure while departing Grosmont with a train, resulting in significant damage.Template:Fix/category

Gallery

• LNER Q6 following overhaul at Darlington Works, March 1959
  LNER Q6 following overhaul at Darlington Works, March 1959
• 63407 stationed at West Hartlepool shed, June 1967
  63407 stationed at West Hartlepool shed, June 1967
• 63395 positioned at Sunderland shed, June 1967
  63395 positioned at Sunderland shed, June 1967
• No. 63395 operating on the preserved Great Central Railway
  No. 63395 operating on the preserved Great Central Railway

Models

Hornby has produced a 1:76 scale replica of the class in OO gauge.

References

• Template:Baxter-BritishLocoCat5A
• Template:RCTS-LocosLNER

External links

• LNER Encyclopedia
• Detailed Information on Class Q6 Archived 1 October 2022 at the Wayback Machine at Rail UK
• North Eastern Locomotive Preservation Group
• North Yorkshire Moors Railway
• North Eastern Railway Class T2 at Eisenbahn in Großbritannien (in German)